RAF Balderton

RAF Balderton, taken 18 April 1944 oriented eastward (top). As part of the buildup to D-Day, the 439th Troop Carrier Group has large numbers of C-47s and CG-4 Horsa Gliders parked on the grass interior of airfield as well as on the dispersal loops along the perimeter track.

Balderton airfield opened in June 1941 with a grass surface over stiff clay, it was used by the Royal Air Force (RAF), Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) and United States Army Air Forces (USAAF). During World War II it was used primarily as a troop carrier transport airfield and after for munitions storage before it finally closed. A notice in The Times for 20 May 1957 lists the airfield as one of those no longer needed by the RAF.

The airfield was built to a dispersed plan. By 1943 the airfield had tarmac landing areas with three intersecting runways and 50 hard standings suitable for Heavy Bombers. In 1944 it was used by Bomber Command's 5 Group. There were two T-2 aircraft hangars, two Glider hangars and one B1 type hangar by 1944. There were 1510 male and 208 female personnel stationed on the base at that time. Part of the accommodation was temporary, and the officers accommodation was at a nearby hospital, Balderton Hall. (Now the Fernwood development)

During the airfields short operational life over two hundred aircrew failed to return and paid the ultimate sacrifice, a little known fact in Nottinghamshire’s history.

Today, the remains of the airfield are located on private property being used as agricultural fields and a gypsum quarry.

408 Squadron's first operational flight from RAF Balderton was on 10 December 1941 and was a daylight bombing raid on the airfield at Leeuwarden.

408 Squadron remained at RAF Balderton from 9 December 1941 until 20th September 1942 60 operational aircraft and crews sent to RAF North Luffenham from 25/01/1942 to 16/03/1942 due to Baldertons runways becoming unserviceable .[1]

1943 saw the laying of the concrete runways and in August of that year 1668 HCU was formed at RAF Balderton and stayed until moving to RAF Syerston as No5 Lancaster Finishing School

The airfield was officially taken over by Ninth Air Force on New Year's Day 1944. Balderton was used as a reception center for the 437th and the 439th troop carrier groups arriving from the United States that were subsequently located at other UK airfields. Balderton was known as USAAF Station AAF-482 for security reasons by the USAAF during the war, and by which it was referred to instead of location. Its USAAF Station Code was "BD". It's World War II radio callsign was 'Cheapride'.

Balderton was retained by IX Troop Carrier Command throughout the summer of 1944, and it was about to be released to the Royal Air Force when, in September, it was required as an advance base for Operation "Market".

Ground units moved in during the first week and the air echelon of the 439th TCG, which had been in the process of moving to France, returned to Balderton to airlift the ground forces into the Netherlands.

On 17 September, the 439th despatched two flights of aircraft. The first, with 30 C-47s carrying paratroops of the 82nd Airborne Division to Groesbeek near Nijmegen, successfully completed their mission. The 50 C-47s of the second flight towed CG-4A Waco gliders, losing one but no C47s were lost

The next day, 50 C-47s again towed gliders to Groesbeck. one C47 was lost on the 18th September 42-93098c-N12972 and Captain F O Lorimer was killed. On D-plus 2, 25 C-47s took port in an unsuccessful re-supply mission. On D-plus 3, 15 C-47s of the group carried out a re-supply drop to the 101st Airborne Division from RAF Greenham Common.

In early February 1944 the air echelon of the 439th was ordered to Baer Field, Fort Wayne, Indiana, the aerial port of embarkation, arriving there on the 14th of the month. The ground echelon would follow by ship to England. The advance parties of the 439th and two of its squadrons, the 91st and 92nd, departed Baer Field in their C47 transports o/a 19 February 1944. Flying a circuitous route they arrived at Balderton Airdrome in England on 21 February 1944. The remaining two squadrons, the 93rd and 94th, did not arrive at Balderton until 6 March. The airdrome was located 2 miles south of Newark, England in the midlands. Skidmore and the ground echelon of the 439th TC Group and its four squadrons left New York aboard the U. S. S. George Washington, an Army troop transport, on 28 February 1944. After eleven days at sea the ship arrived at Liverpool, England on 10 March 1944. From there they traveled by rail to Balderton where they would remain until 26 April 1944. On that date the group was relocated to the airdrome at Upottery, England.

This account taken from the book 'Men of Power: The Lives of Rolls-Royce Chief Test Pilots Harvey and Jim Heyworth.'

It includes the following details;

Jan 44 - Returned to Glosters for a complete overhaul.

24 Feb 44 - To Rolls-Royces’ aerodrome at Balderton following completion of overhaul. 25 minute flight. To quote from the flight report held by DoRIS; ‘due to the landing of an entire American Transport Squadron, the aircraft was flown around Balderton for a few minutes while waiting for the aerodrome to clear’.

28 Apr 44
Following tests, transferred to Church Broughton for further development flying.

Whittle based himself at Balderton Old Hall on Main Street while working on designs for his prototype jet engine.

227 Squadron was based at RAF Balderton between October 1944 and April 1945. The first mission they took part in while
at RAF Balderton was on the night of 28 October 1944. 18 aircraft to bomb Bergen, Norway.

Having no operational usefulness to the RAF, from June 1945, bombs were stored on the runways. Like many wartime airfields, it languished unused with a little demolition until gradually disposed of in the 1950s and 1960s. A notice in The Times for 20 May 1957 listed the airfield as one of those no longer needed by the RAF. The airfield was sold by public auction on Wednesday, 9th of September, 1959.

RAF Balderton was then sold by the MOD and returned to agriculture, the runway concrete disappearing as hardcore under the A1 improvements of the mid 1960s. At that time, the developed A1 was routed west of the original road (The Old Great North Road), over the eastern perimeter track of the airfield, before coming back to the east to bypass Balderton village and Newark.

Gypsum open-pit mining has also taken its toll where quarrying has completely obliterated the western side of the airfield.

1.
Royal Air Force
–
The Royal Air Force is the United Kingdoms aerial warfare force. Formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, following victory over the Central Powers in 1918 the RAF emerged as, at the time, the largest air force in the world. The RAF describe its mission statement as, an agile, adaptable and capable Air Force that, person for person, is second to none, and that makes a decisive air power contribution in support of the UK Defence Mission. The mission statement is supported by the RAFs definition of air power, Air power is defined as the ability to project power from the air and space to influence the behaviour of people or the course of events. Today the Royal Air Force maintains a fleet of various types of aircraft. The majority of the RAFs rotary-wing aircraft form part of the tri-service Joint Helicopter Command in support of ground forces, most of the RAFs aircraft and personnel are based in the UK, with many others serving on operations or at long-established overseas bases. It was founded on 1 April 1918, with headquarters located in the former Hotel Cecil, during the First World War, by the amalgamation of the Royal Flying Corps, at that time it was the largest air force in the world. The RAFs naval aviation branch, the Fleet Air Arm, was founded in 1924, the RAF developed the doctrine of strategic bombing which led to the construction of long-range bombers and became its main bombing strategy in the Second World War. The RAF underwent rapid expansion prior to and during the Second World War, under the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan of December 1939, the air forces of British Commonwealth countries trained and formed Article XV squadrons for service with RAF formations. Many individual personnel from countries, and exiles from occupied Europe. By the end of the war the Royal Canadian Air Force had contributed more than 30 squadrons to serve in RAF formations, additionally, the Royal Australian Air Force represented around nine percent of all RAF personnel who served in the European and Mediterranean theatres. In the Battle of Britain in 1940, the RAF defended the skies over Britain against the numerically superior German Luftwaffe, the largest RAF effort during the war was the strategic bombing campaign against Germany by Bomber Command. Following victory in the Second World War, the RAF underwent significant re-organisation, during the early stages of the Cold War, one of the first major operations undertaken by the Royal Air Force was in 1948 and the Berlin Airlift, codenamed Operation Plainfire. Before Britain developed its own nuclear weapons the RAF was provided with American nuclear weapons under Project E and these were initially armed with nuclear gravity bombs, later being equipped with the Blue Steel missile. Following the development of the Royal Navys Polaris submarines, the nuclear deterrent passed to the navys submarines on 30 June 1969. With the introduction of Polaris, the RAFs strategic nuclear role was reduced to a tactical one and this tactical role was continued by the V bombers into the 1980s and until 1998 by Tornado GR1s. For much of the Cold War the primary role of the RAF was the defence of Western Europe against potential attack by the Soviet Union, with many squadrons based in West Germany. With the decline of the British Empire, global operations were scaled back, despite this, the RAF fought in many battles in the Cold War period

2.
United States Army Air Forces
–
Each of these forces had a commanding general who reported directly to the Army Chief of Staff. S. Army to control its own installations and support personnel, the peak size of the AAF during the Second World War was over 2.4 million men and women in service and nearly 80,000 aircraft by 1944, and 783 domestic bases in December 1943. By V-E Day, the Army Air Forces had 1.25 million men stationed overseas, in its expansion and conduct of the war, the AAF became more than just an arm of the greater organization. By the end of World War II, the Army Air Forces had become virtually an independent service and this contrast between theory and fact is. fundamental to an understanding of the AAF. Gen. Billy Mitchell that led to his later court-martial, a strategy stressing precision bombing of industrial targets by heavily armed, long-range bombers emerged, formulated by the men who would become its leaders. Since 1920, control of units had resided with commanders of the corps areas. Both were created in 1933 when a conflict with Cuba seemed possible following a coup détat. Activation of GHQ Air Force represented a compromise between strategic airpower advocates and ground force commanders who demanded that the Air Corps mission remain tied to that of the land forces. GHQ Air Force organized combat groups administratively into a force of three wings deployed to the Atlantic, Pacific, and Gulf coasts but was small in comparison to European air forces. Corps area commanders continued to control over airfields and administration of personnel. The expected activation of Army General Headquarters prompted Army Chief of Staff George C. Marshall to request a study from Chief of the Air Corps Maj. Gen. Henry H. Arnold resulting on 5 October 1940 in a proposal for creation of an air staff, unification of the air arm under one commander, and equality with the ground and supply forces. Marshall implemented a compromise that the Air Corps found entirely inadequate, naming Arnold as acting Deputy Chief of Staff for Air but rejecting all organizational points of his proposal. GHQ Air Force instead was assigned to the control of Army General Headquarters, although the latter was a training and not an operational component, when it was activated in November 1940. A division of the GHQ Air Force into four air defense districts on 19 October 1940 was concurrent with the creation of air forces to defend Hawaii. The air districts were converted in March 1941 into numbered air forces with an organization of 54 groups. Marshall had come to the view that the air forces needed a simpler system, Arnold and Marshall agreed that the AAF would enjoy a general autonomy within the War Department until the end of the war, while its commanders would cease lobbying for independence. Marshall, a proponent of airpower, left understood that the Air Force would likely achieve its independence following the war

3.
Balderton
–
For the village of the same name in Cheshire, see Balderton, Cheshire Balderton is a village and civil parish in the Newark and Sherwood district of Nottinghamshire, England. The parish, which then included Fernwood had a population of 10,298 in 2001, Balderton is one of the largest villages in Nottinghamshire, although it may be more properly considered a suburb of Newark on Trent. Balderton is split into Balderton and New Balderton, both of an equal size. The eighteenth-century maps of Bowen and Owen say Balderton vulgo Bodderton, the busy A1 trunk road once ran through the village – recent improvements have created a bypass for the A1, improving the environment. The old A1 near the site of the hospital/hall was called the Ramper, the east coast main railway line between London and Edinburgh also skirts the village, the nearest station stop being in Newark. Balderton was also situated on the Great North Road. The soil is mostly alluvial clays, large deposits of gravel and sand were excavated in New Balderton – the resulting pits have now turned into a park. The surrounding area is agricultural, mixed arable and livestock. The village itself is probably of Anglo-Saxon origin and is mentioned in the Domesday Book, the ton suffix suggests a Late Anglo-Saxon origin. The Saxon countess Godiva, the wife of Earl Leofric, had property in the Manor of Newark nearby, in the Domesday Book the place is called Baldretune and is described as a berewick of Newark. In the Pope Nicholas IV taxation of 1291 it is spelt Baldirton, baldertons Lords, the Busseys, lived in the area in William the Conquerors era and held it until the reign of Elizabeth I. It subsequently descended to the Meers and Lascels, in the 1840s, when its population was a little over 1,000, large parts of the village were owned principally by the Duke of Newcastle, who was lord of the manor. Two petitions of the century show disputes with the nearby village of Claypole. The will of John de Boston, a mercer of Newark, grapes were once grown at Balderton. In 1578 there were accusations of vines being cut down, during the final siege of Newark in the Civil War Colonel Rossiter, a parliamentary commander, was camped at Balderton. A Balderton enclosure act was passed in 1766, London Road was built in 1767 as a turnpike for the Great North Road which ran through Balderton and to the north of England. One of the former coachouses built to serve the turnpike is now a public house, a windmill at Balderton was recorded as having been removed c. It was a postmill on a 2-storey roundhouse, with 2 spring and 2 common sails, a windmill was recorded on the Old Series Ordnance Survey map on a site close to Spring Lane

4.
Runway
–
According to the International Civil Aviation Organization, a runway is a defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and takeoff of aircraft. Runways may be a surface or a natural surface. Runways are named by a number between 01 and 36, which is generally the magnetic azimuth of the heading in decadegrees. This heading differs from true north by the magnetic declination. A runway numbered 09 points east, runway 18 is south, runway 27 points west, when taking off from or landing on runway 09, a plane would be heading 90°. A runway can normally be used in both directions, and is named for each separately, e. g. runway 33 in one direction is runway 15 when used in the other. The two numbers usually differ by 18, Runway Zero Three Left becomes Runway Two One Right when used in the opposite direction. In some countries, if parallel runways are too close to each other, at large airports with four or more parallel runways some runway identifiers are shifted by 10 degrees to avoid the ambiguity that would result with more than three parallel runways. For example, in Los Angeles, this results in runways 6L, 6R, 7L. At Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, there are five parallel runways, named 17L, 17C, 17R, 18L, for clarity in radio communications, each digit in the runway name is pronounced individually, runway three six, runway one four, etc. A leading zero, for example in runway zero six or runway zero one left, is included for all ICAO, however, most U. S. civil aviation airports drop the leading zero as required by FAA regulation. This also includes some military airfields such as Cairns Army Airfield and this American anomaly may lead to inconsistencies in conversations between American pilots and controllers in other countries. It is very common in a such as Canada for a controller to clear an incoming American aircraft to, for example, runway 04. In flight simulation programs those of American origin might apply U. S. usage to airports around the world, for example, runway 05 at Halifax will appear on the program as the single digit 5 rather than 05. Runway designations change over time because the magnetic poles slowly drift on the Earths surface, depending on the airport location and how much drift takes place, it may be necessary over time to change the runway designation. As runways are designated with headings rounded to the nearest 10 degrees, for example, if the magnetic heading of a runway is 233 degrees, it would be designated Runway 23. If the magnetic heading changed downwards by 5 degrees to 228, if on the other hand the original magnetic heading was 226, and the heading decreased by only 2 degrees to 224, the runway should become Runway 22. Because the drift itself is slow, runway designation changes are uncommon

5.
Asphalt
–
Asphalt, also known as bitumen is a sticky, black and highly viscous liquid or semi-solid form of petroleum. It may be found in deposits or may be a refined product. Until the 20th century, the term asphaltum was also used, the word is derived from the Ancient Greek ἄσφαλτος ásphaltos. The primary use of asphalt/bitumen is in construction, where it is used as the glue or binder mixed with aggregate particles to create asphalt concrete. Its other main uses are for bituminous waterproofing products, including production of roofing felt, the terms asphalt and bitumen are often used interchangeably to mean both natural and manufactured forms of the substance. In American English, asphalt is the carefully refined residue from the process of selected crude oils. Outside the United States, the product is often called bitumen, geologists often prefer the term bitumen. Common usage often refers to forms of asphalt/bitumen as tar. Naturally occurring asphalt/bitumen is sometimes specified by the crude bitumen. Its viscosity is similar to that of cold molasses while the material obtained from the distillation of crude oil boiling at 525 °C is sometimes referred to as refined bitumen. The Canadian province of Alberta has most of the reserves of natural bitumen, covering 142,000 square kilometres. Additionally, most natural bitumens contain organosulfur compounds, resulting in a sulfur content of up to 4%. Nickel and vanadium are found in the <10 ppm level, as is typical of some petroleum, the substance is soluble in carbon disulfide. It is commonly modelled as a colloid, with asphaltenes as the dispersed phase, and it is almost impossible to separate and identify all the different molecules of asphalt, because the number of molecules with different chemical structure is extremely large. Asphalt/bitumen can sometimes be confused with tar, which is a visually similar black. During the early and mid-20th century when town gas was produced, coal tar was a readily available byproduct, the addition of tar to macadam roads led to the word tarmac, which is now used in common parlance to refer to road-making materials. However, since the 1970s, when natural gas succeeded town gas, other examples of this confusion include the La Brea Tar Pits and the Canadian oil sands, both of which actually contain natural bitumen rather than tar. Pitch is another term used at times to refer to asphalt/bitumen

6.
Newark-on-Trent
–
Newark-on-Trent or Newark /ˈnjuːək/ is a market town in Nottinghamshire in the East Midlands of England. It stands on the River Trent, the A1, and the East Coast Main Line railway, the origins of the town are possibly Roman as it lies on an important Roman road, the Fosse Way. The town grew around Newark Castle, now ruined, and a marketplace, now lined with historic buildings. In the English Civil War, it was besieged by Parliamentary forces and had to be relieved by Prince Rupert in a known as the Relief of Newark. The estimated population in 2007 was 26,330, increasing to 27,700 at the 2011 census, the origins of the town are possibly Roman due to its position on an important Roman road, the Fosse Way. In a document which purports to be a charter of 664, after his death it changed to, and remained in the hands of, the Bishops of Lincoln from 1092 until the reign of Edward VI. There were burgesses in Newark at the time of the Domesday survey, the Newark wapentake in the east of Nottinghamshire was established during the period of Anglo-Saxon rule. Newark Castle was originally a Saxon fortified manor house, founded by King Edward the Elder, in 1073, Robert Bloet, bishop of Lincoln founded an earthwork motte and bailey fortress on the site. From 1123–33, Bishop Alexander the Magnificent completely rebuilt the castle, the river bridge was built about the same time under charter from Henry I, also St. Leonards Hospital. He also gained from the king a charter to hold a fair at the castle each year. He gained a charter under King Stephen to establish a mint in the town, the town became a local centre for the wool and cloth trade, certainly by the time of Henry II a major market was established. Wednesday and Saturday markets in the town were established during the period 1156–1329 when a series of charters granted to the Bishop of Lincoln made them possible, King John died of dysentery in Newark in 1216. Around the time of Edward IIIs death, and excluding beggars and clergy, in January 1571 or 1572, the composer Robert Parsons fell into the swollen River Trent at Newark and drowned. There is no record of his ever having been retrieved from the river following his death. The dissolution affected Newarks political landscape heavily, and even more changes came in 1547 when the Bishop of Lincoln exchanged ownership of the town with the Crown. Newark was incorporated under an alderman and twelve assistants in 1549, during the English Civil War, Newark was a mainstay of the royalist cause, Charles I having raised his standard in nearby Nottingham. It was attacked in February 1643 by two troops of horsemen, but beat them back. The town fielded at times as many as 600 soldiers, and raided Nottingham, Grantham, Northampton, Gainsborough, and others with mixed success, but enough to cause it to rise to national notice

7.
Great Northern Railway (Great Britain)
–
The Great Northern Railway was a British railway company established by the Great Northern Railway Act of 1846. On 1 January 1923 the company lost its identity, as a constituent of the newly formed London, the main line became part of the East Coast Main Line. In the summer of 1835, the engineer, Joseph Gibbs projected a line which was to run from Whitechapel, via Dunmow, Cambridge, Sleaford and this was submitted to a committee in London to which the title Great Northern Railway Company was provisionally given. However, the scheme came to nothing, loop from Peterborough to Bawtry via Boston and Lincoln. The London and York bill finally received Royal assent on 26 June 1846 as The Great Northern Railway Act,1846, the Act granted powers to construct the main line and loop lines. The Great Northern began construction first on the Peterborough to Gainsborough section of the loop line, as the ease of construction over the flat fens promised an earlier return on investment. The first section of line was opened on 1 March 1848 and was the Louth to Grimsby section of the East Lincolnshire Railway, which although nominally independent, was leased to the GNR from the start. The first section of GNR proper to be opened was the 3 miles from Doncaster to Askern Junction, the GNR and MS&LR lines allowing through running from Lincoln to Doncaster via Retford opened on 4 September 1849. The immediate targets in the north were Leeds and York and this new line was opened in June 1850, at which time the agreement was formalised and in return the GNR agreed not to proceed with its own main line from Askern to York via Selby. During 1846 to 1849 George Turnbull was the resident engineer under William Cubitt for the London District of the Great Northern Railway, in December 1848 Turnbull was busy with the plans for Kings Cross station and passing the line under the Regents Canal. On 2 February 1849 the last capstone on Holloway Bridge was set in place, on 27 March the first brick for the South Mimms tunnel was laid by Edward Purser. The first brick of the East Barnet tunnel was laid on 23 April, there was much trouble with the cement in the Tottenham and South Mimms tunnels, Turnbull stopped the use of this cement — blue lias was substituted. Another of the engineers working under Cubitt was James Moore, who went on to design the first commercial railway in Australia for the Melbourne. On 7 August 1850, the line opened from a temporary station at Maiden Lane, London. The remaining section between Peterborough and Retford opened in 1852, as did the new London terminus at Kings Cross, Doncaster locomotive works opened in 1853, replacing temporary facilities at Boston. On 1 August 1854, the Leeds, Bradford and Halifax Junction Railway opened between Leeds and Bowling Junction near Bradford, because it had running powers over this line and a section of the LYR, the GNR obtained access to Bradford and Halifax. In 1857, the West Yorkshire Railway opened their line from Wakefield to Leeds via Ardsley. The GNR had running powers over this line and immediately began using it instead of the Midland line via Methley, also in 1857, the previously mentioned LB&HJR opened a direct line from Ardsley to Laisterdyke, near Bradford

8.
A1 road (Great Britain)
–
The A1 is the longest numbered road in the UK, at 410 miles. It connects London, the capital of England and the United Kingdom, with Edinburgh, the course of the A1 has changed where towns or villages have been bypassed, and where new alignments have taken a slightly different route. Several sections of the route have been upgraded to motorway standard, between the M25 and the A696 the road has been designated as part of the unsigned Euroroute E15 from Inverness to Algeciras. The A1 is the latest in a series of north from London to York. It was designated in 1921 by the Ministry of Transport under the Great Britain road numbering scheme, the earliest documented northern routes are the roads created by the Romans during the period from AD43 to AD410, which consisted of several itinera recorded in the Antonine Itinerary. A combination of these were used by the Anglo-Saxons as the route from London to York, Ermine Street later became known as the Old North Road. Part of this route in London is followed by the current A10, by the 12th century, because of flooding and damage by traffic, an alternative route out of London was found through Muswell Hill, and became part of the Great North Road. A turnpike road, New North Road and Canonbury Road, was constructed in 1812 linking the start of the Old North Road around Shoreditch with the Great North Road at Highbury Corner, the A1 route was modified in 1927 when bypasses were built around Barnet and Hatfield. In the 1930s bypasses were added around Chester-le-Street and Durham, in 1960 Stamford, Biggleswade and Doncaster were bypassed, as were Retford in 1961 and St Neots in 1971. Baldock was bypassed in July 1967, during the early 1970s plans to widen the A1 along Archway Road in London were abandoned after considerable opposition and four public inquiries during which road protesters disrupted proceedings. The scheme was dropped in 1990. The Hatfield cut-and-cover was opened in 1986, few of the surviving coaching inns can be seen while driving on the A1, because the modern route now bypasses the towns with the inns. The A1 runs from New Change in the City of London at St. Pauls Cathedral to the centre of Edinburgh, the road skirts the remains of Sherwood Forest, and passes Catterick Garrison. It shares its London terminus with the A40, in the City area of Central London and it runs out of London through Islington, up Holloway Road, through Highgate, Barnet, Potters Bar, Hatfield, Welwyn, Stevenage, Baldock, Biggleswade, Sandy and St Neots. Scotch Corner, in North Yorkshire, marks the point where before the M6 was built the traffic for Glasgow, as well as a hotel there have been a variety of sites for the transport café, now subsumed as a motorway services. Most of the English section of the A1 is a series of alternating sections of dual carriageway and motorway, from Newcastle upon Tyne to Edinburgh it is a trunk road with alternating sections of dual and single carriageway. The table below summaries the road as motorways and non-motorways sections, A 13-mile section of the road in North Yorkshire, neolithic remains and a Roman fort were discovered. The total cost of works was some £50 million

9.
England
–
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west, the Irish Sea lies northwest of England and the Celtic Sea lies to the southwest. England is separated from continental Europe by the North Sea to the east, the country covers five-eighths of the island of Great Britain in its centre and south, and includes over 100 smaller islands such as the Isles of Scilly, and the Isle of Wight. England became a state in the 10th century, and since the Age of Discovery. The Industrial Revolution began in 18th-century England, transforming its society into the worlds first industrialised nation, Englands terrain mostly comprises low hills and plains, especially in central and southern England. However, there are uplands in the north and in the southwest, the capital is London, which is the largest metropolitan area in both the United Kingdom and the European Union. In 1801, Great Britain was united with the Kingdom of Ireland through another Act of Union to become the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. In 1922 the Irish Free State seceded from the United Kingdom, leading to the latter being renamed the United Kingdom of Great Britain, the name England is derived from the Old English name Englaland, which means land of the Angles. The Angles were one of the Germanic tribes that settled in Great Britain during the Early Middle Ages, the Angles came from the Angeln peninsula in the Bay of Kiel area of the Baltic Sea. The earliest recorded use of the term, as Engla londe, is in the ninth century translation into Old English of Bedes Ecclesiastical History of the English People. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, its spelling was first used in 1538. The earliest attested reference to the Angles occurs in the 1st-century work by Tacitus, Germania, the etymology of the tribal name itself is disputed by scholars, it has been suggested that it derives from the shape of the Angeln peninsula, an angular shape. An alternative name for England is Albion, the name Albion originally referred to the entire island of Great Britain. The nominally earliest record of the name appears in the Aristotelian Corpus, specifically the 4th century BC De Mundo, in it are two very large islands called Britannia, these are Albion and Ierne. But modern scholarly consensus ascribes De Mundo not to Aristotle but to Pseudo-Aristotle, the word Albion or insula Albionum has two possible origins. Albion is now applied to England in a poetic capacity. Another romantic name for England is Loegria, related to the Welsh word for England, Lloegr, the earliest known evidence of human presence in the area now known as England was that of Homo antecessor, dating to approximately 780,000 years ago. The oldest proto-human bones discovered in England date from 500,000 years ago, Modern humans are known to have inhabited the area during the Upper Paleolithic period, though permanent settlements were only established within the last 6,000 years

10.
408 Tactical Helicopter Squadron
–
408 Tactical Helicopter Squadron is a unit of 1 Wing, Kingston. It is co-located with 1 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group at Canadian Forces Base Edmonton, equipped with 16 CH-146 Griffon helicopters, it rotates a high combat-readiness level with 400 Squadron and 430 Squadron. Its primary role is in support of operations and vanguard brigades requiring tactical helicopter resources. No.408 Squadrons mandate also includes supporting United Nations and NATO peacekeeping operations, land force training, for example,408 Squadrons eight Griffons were assigned to support the Canadian contingent in the Balkans in 1999. Their job was to small teams of paratroopers, infantrymen, and tankers to certain areas to check out water reservoirs, power grids, suspected weapons caches, minefields. Given the rough terrain in Bosnia, the squadron proved invaluable for conducting reconnaissance, observation. No.408 Squadrons history dates back to June 24,1941 and it was to be the second Royal Canadian Air Force bomber squadron formed overseas. Goose Squadron, as it was to become known, was based at Lindholm in Yorkshire, England. During the war, the Goose Squadron converted aircraft several times, No.408 would change from Hampden aircraft to the Halifax, and then to the Lancaster in August 1943 after moving to RAF Linton-on-Ouse and becoming part of No.6 Group. It flew 4,610 sorties and dropped 11,340 tons of bombs, a total of 170 aircraft were lost and 933 personnel were killed, listed as missing in action or prisoners of war. Squadron members won two hundred decorations, and 11 battle honours for its wartime operations, on September 5,1945,408 Squadron was officially disbanded. On January 10,1949, Goose Squadron was reformed at RCAF Station Rockcliffe, equipped with eight Lancaster Mark X photographic aircraft, it was tasked with the mapping of Canada, specifically the far North. In 1962, the squadron formed a flight of Canadair T-33 aircraft, on February 29,1964, the Lancaster aircraft were retired and replaced with Dakotas. The Goose Squadron was moved to Rivers, Manitoba, and re-designated as a transport support, on May 1,1964, RCAF Station Rivers Transport Support Flight with its C-119 Boxcars was transferred into 408 Squadron. In 1965, the Boxcars were replaced by CC-130 Hercules aircraft, as the decade drew to a close,408 Squadron was once again redesignated. On October 1,1968, it started its history with 10 Tactical Air Group as a Tactical Fighter Squadron. During this post-war era, the squadron flew seven different aircraft, the Lancaster, Cansos, Norseman, Dakotas, Boxcars, T-33s, late in 1970, the squadron was once more disbanded. On January 1,1971,408 Squadron was once again re-activated at Namao in Edmonton, Alberta, as a helicopter squadron and equipped with CH-135 Twin Huey